Rich, flavorful foods paired with creamy, hearty sauces help you lose weight!It sounds absurd at first glance, but a low-carb, high-fat diet is a great way to enjoy eating and lose weight at the same time.
Keto diet - fight fat in the name of slimness
Fat is a unique flavor enhancer that makes our food especially delicious.After all, how can a dry chicken breast compare to a juicy piece of pork in a cheese sauce?The same thing.
If you eat a lot of fatty foods, keeping your carbohydrate intake as low as possible, diet nutrition will open up a new side for you - tasty, juicy and nutritious!
Very soon we will move on to the TOP 10 methods, but for now let's look briefly at the principle of the keto diet - how it works, to force the body to lose weight, but at the same time eliminate the feeling of hunger and bad mood that are so typical of dietary restrictions.
The basis of the ketogenic diet is food with a high fat content, the optimal amount of protein and a minimum amount of carbohydrates.The portion of the latter should not exceed 25 g per day (the optimal amount is in the range from 20 to 25 g).
The easiest way to produce energy for our body is glucose, which is the source of carbohydrates of all kinds (like an apple which contains two dozen carbohydrates, as well as buns and candies).But as soon as the supply of this substance is limited, our system starts to use ketones, produced in the liver, as fuel.
It induces ketosis, a natural process within the body that usually occurs during extreme starvation.For example, if not even the smallest piece of food appears in the stomach for several days, the body begins to experience a lack of glucose (the source of energy has dried up), so it recruits ketones to work.
In this way, the keto diet helps you lose weight, not because of hunger, but because of the low supply of carbohydrates for the "processing workshop".As soon as the body has switched to using fats as a source of energy for life, it begins to actively "eat" fats from food, as well as those that "decorate" our sides, stomach and other parts of the body.
Therefore, on a keto diet, it is important to remember the main thing: there should be as much fat as possible in your diet - they will lead to a slim body.Contrary to the prejudices (fat makes you fat, it is harmful, etc.), do not be afraid of fatty foods, because as part of a low-carb diet, it will be extremely beneficial for the body.
On a ketogenic diet, you will always feel full, cheerful and in a great mood, because fatty foods satisfy your hunger perfectly and for a long time, and the pleasant taste of the cream of the food does not allow you to feel that you do not have tasty dishes.
This is exactly what happens on other diets with a strict restriction on the amount of cheese, for example, or a complete ban on a juicy kebab from a piece of fatty pork.
TOP 10 – we eat fatty and tasty!
In some cases, the keto diet can be a problem for people who are not used to eating a lot of fatty foods.Therefore, we are talking about 10 ways to eat more natural fats, getting comprehensive benefits - both the pleasure of eating and effective weight loss.
1. Start with whole foods rich in fats
It's time to say goodbye to low-fat or low-fat foods.Clean out your fridge and kitchen cupboards of dried egg mixes instead of real eggs, artificial cream and low-fat peanut butter.Now your breakfast, lunch or dinner will be really tasty!
Get rid of any foods labeled "light" or "diet" - they have no place in your stomach on the keto diet.Replace skimmed milk with the fattest milk, enjoy heavy cream of 20% or more, eat cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% and enjoy the delicate taste of food.
By the way, if you can't find full-fat milk or yogurt in a nearby store, feel free to buy a low-fat product, because you can increase the fat content yourself.For example, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream or sour cream to 1% drinking yoghurt.
Review your entire shopping list.Your goal is to stock your fridge with whole foods that are high in fat, including avocados and chicken eggs.
When preparing dishes, try to add natural fats, and not avoid them out of habit.Fry eggs in melted butter, eat your favorite high-fat hard cheeses.
In short, don't deny yourself the pleasure of eating tasty and fatty food!By the way, you can easily make natural ice cream from cream - just whip it and put it in the freezer.In an hour, your delicacy will be ready.Use strawberries or apricots as a sweetener - they contain minimal carbohydrates (5 g for half a cup of strawberries and 8 g for 2 large apricots).
From now on, give preference to fatty meats.In addition, it is more aromatic, tender and cheap, unlike its low-fat counterparts.Include fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines in your diet - they are rich in fat, so they will be a great addition to your menu.
2. Cook with extra fat
Don't be afraid to pour so much oil into the pan that the pieces of food are floating in it.No more steaming vegetables or baking a dry chicken breast without a drop of fat in foil.Cook low-carb vegetables, fish, meat or eggs with natural fats.
This will make your food even tastier and more nutritious.Use as much fat as is necessary to prepare the dish.You can always throw away the leftovers - you don't even have to eat them with a spoon.
3. Use different fats - this will diversify the taste of the food
Fats can easily change the taste of food, and this is a great way to expand the range of taste perception for each day of the ketogenic diet.The easiest option is to boil green beans and season them with a piece of butter to get a pleasant aftertaste.
Do you like it fatter?Then fry the beans in oil, and finally drizzle with sesame oil - you will get a wonderful dish.It is not forbidden to sprinkle the beans with a spoonful of sesame seeds (this will improve the taste and add a little more fat, which will help the body lose weight).
Experiments are welcome!Don't be afraid to try new combinations of foods and natural fats to see which foods you like best.Make a healthy supply of several types of fat at once, which can be stored in the fridge or kitchen cupboard:
- vegetable oil;
- olive and coconut;
- lard (in any form);
- sesame oil;
- avocado and peanut oil;
- pumpkin seed oil;
- nut oils (macadamia, almond, etc.);
- chicken, duck fat and other types of animal fats.
Use oil everywhere - on a sandwich, in salads, when boiling, stewing or frying foods.
4. Stock up on a list of low-carb recipes
It is not difficult at all as it seems.Write down a dozen simple recipes in a separate notebook so you don't have to rack your brain every time about what is the tastiest thing to cook for breakfast or dinner.The most important thing is that there are almost no carbohydrates in the dishes.
Here are some starting ideas for your dishes:
- Chicken casserole with feta cheese and olives.There are only 6 g of carbohydrates, and cooking as easy as shelling pears - mix the ingredients and bake until golden brown, not forgetting to coat the chicken in spices and butter.
- Cutlets of meat in a creamy tomato sauce with a side dish of stewed cabbage(in butter, of course).There are only 10 g of carbohydrates against the taste seen on a fried cutlet with a fragrant, hearty sauce.
- Keto Pancakes with Roast Pork.Only 8 g of carbohydrates and mind-blowing enjoyment!Use heavy cream and almond flour to prepare these pancakes, and don't forget to season the finished dish with melted butter.
- Hamburger with an airy egg bun, fried meat, cheese, vegetables and herbs.This dish will replace any fast food, and will only provide 7 g of carbohydrates!By the way, the "base" itself is very easy to prepare: just beat the yolks and whites separately, then mix into one mass and bake in the oven.You probably already know how to fry meat.Good luck!
Low-carb recipes will help you eat deliciously, and most importantly, that you eat enough fat, which is so necessary to lose weight on the keto diet.
5. Cover prepared foods with oil, sauce, or rich dressings.
Do this with everything you eat.There is no need to stir olive oil with a tablespoon, but it is your sacred duty to add it to a vegetable salad.Even avocado, known as a very fatty food, goes well with oil dressings.
There are many options for sauces:
- pure vegetable oils mixed with herbs and spices;
- cheese and cream sauces, as well as their combinations (tomato, mushroom, etc.);
- everyone's "cursed" melted butter or mayonnaise.
Always add natural fats to your food, as this is the foundation of the keto diet.
6. nice food = fatty food.Decorate your dishes with fatty foods!
For some reason, when we hear the word "fat," our minds conjure up clumsy pictures of an unsightly piece of lard or, even worse, fat on our own bodies.So now is the time to change your thoughts in the other direction, because fat looks great sometimes, not to mention all!
See what you can use to decorate your dishes:
- fatty cheeses;
- avocado slices;
- olives and seeds;
- rash ;
- chopped macadamia nuts;
- roasted sesame, almonds;
- avocado, tomato and herb puree;
- slices of bacon or brisket;
- pine nuts.
These simple foods add variety to the taste of your food, provide your body with nutrients and, of course, plenty of fat!They can be added to almost any dish and are a great addition to your keto meal plan.
7. Check the snacks - are they sure they contain fat?
Snacks and various appetizers are best avoided on any diet, but sometimes they are great for suppressing hunger, allowing you to be full until your next meal.If you happen to be hungry, choose a fatty snack.It could be cheese, nuts or hard-boiled chicken eggs.
8. Always keep a stock of cheeses in the fridge
Because cheese is the best addition to any food.It works great as a snack and can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack.Use cheese as a topping - it works great as an individual dish (for example, spicy cheese shavings in the form of tightly rolled cut balls) and as an aesthetic touch to the main dish (in the form of sprinkles).
Prepare wonderful creamy desserts based on cheese and enjoy the taste for breakfast or dinner.Choose any type of fatty cheese with minimal carbohydrate content - this high-calorie product will quickly fill your stomach, leaving you feeling satisfied with your meal.
9. add fat to drinks
Your tea, coffee or hot milk will taste different if it contains a spoonful of aromatic salts.For example, melt some butter or coconut oil in a bowl.It will not take more than 30 seconds, but the aftertaste of the drink will delight your taste buds for another 15 minutes.
Heavy cream or thick country sour cream from farm shops goes well with hot drinks.And if you add butter to a glass of warm milk, you can not only lose weight, but also forget about seasonal colds.Such a simple snack will solve two problems at the same time: quench your thirst and fill your stomach.
Although you are carrying fatty foods and dreaming of a slim body, do not forget about a reasonable approach to business.After all, in some cases there is a risk that an excess of fatty foods will bring the opposite result - stopping the process of losing weight or raising cholesterol levels sharply.
Especially if you drink the drink on a full stomach, providing tons of extra energy to the body.This tool is powerful - use it wisely.
10. Which dessert to choose on a keto diet?
The first tip for every diet is to skip dessert.But, as with snacks, sometimes it's hard to deny yourself that little pleasure when you're losing weight.
If you intend to treat yourself to something tasty, choose recipes that are high in fat and low in sugar, including artificial sweeteners.Unsweetened (30% fat or more) whipped cream with raspberries is a great choice for a keto dessert.
You can diversify the menu of those with a sweet tooth with fat bombs with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.These "sweets" go well with tea or coffee, which usually lifts the mood of people who are losing weight.By the way, there are only 0.4 g of carbohydrates in those "bombs".Write down the recipe, because they are prepared simply and very quickly!
What you will need:
- 85 g butter (preferably unleavened);
- 0.5 grated coconut (no added sugars);
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cardamom (green);
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract;
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
How to cook:
- Heat the oil to room temperature.
- Fry the coconut flakes until golden brown.
- Mix the butter, most of the chips, spices and put in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Once the mixture has hardened slightly, form it into small balls, roll in the remaining toasted coconut and enjoy!
This dessert can be conveniently stored in both the fridge and the freezer (the shelf life is the same as the oil you used).
How to improve the effect of weight loss on a keto diet?
Fat literally makes our lives tastier, healthier and easier, but moderation is key in everything.At each meal, eat moderate portions, do not overeat.The best advice is to leave the table a little hungry, because the feeling of fullness comes a little later than the end of the meal.
If you happen to be hungry, this can always be corrected with a small portion of fatty food, but if you overeat, the diet can be considered a failure.Look at your diet: be sure that there is a lot of fat and a few carbohydrates.Do not deviate from the designated course, because this is the basis of the keto diet.
If you want to achieve maximum results, check out some useful tips below.
1. Make onboarding easy.
At the beginning of the carbohydrate-free journey, there is a risk that fatty foods appear too rich in fat for the body - this is normal, so your task is to stay out of the "storm".When you switch to a new food system, the body and the taste buds start to adapt gradually, you just need to give them a little time (2-4 weeks on average).
During this period, try to eat more neutral fatty foods (for example, avocado, cheese and meat fried in a small amount of oil).A smooth transition to more high-fat foods will make you hungry and allow your body to adjust to a new source of energy without unnecessary stress.
Once you balance the path of addiction, the feeling of hunger after a "light-fat" diet will decrease.From the body's point of view, this shows that the adaptation has been successful, and that access to the processing of fat as fuel is fully open (there is no longer any accumulated supply of glucose from carbohydrate foods).
2. Watch your appetite
If you have adapted more than perfectly to the keto diet, but your stomach has become too demanding about the amount of food, it's time to experiment: try to reduce the amount of natural fats added to food (at the cooking stage or in the finished dish).
When you're hungry, still choose high-fat foods instead of carbs.The latter will reduce your efforts to lose weight to nothing.Eat exactly as much food as you need to satisfy your hunger - let your body burn its internal fat reserves, not an extra spoonful of butter from your plate.
3. Add more fat to your diet as you lose weight.
As soon as you achieve the result - the desired number on the scales, for which you gave up carbohydrates, there are no more fat reserves left inside the body, which were used day after day as a source of energy.
During this period, it is important to listen to the body, tune into the same wavelength with it to learn how to read the signs of physical hunger.This is the period when the amount of fatty foods should be gradually increased.Until you find balance, that is, the ability to maintain weight without feeling hungry.
Do not worry that you will not hear your own body, and that there will be too much fat.During your weight loss process, which will take at least 2 months (depending on your initial weight), you will gain good communication skills with your stomach.
The body itself will tell you how much food is enough to satisfy it.To hear the tip, all you have to do is keep your appetite in hand and resist the temptation to overeat.
4. Eat lots of protein foods
Protein foods are responsible for suppressing hunger effectively.If you eat a lot of fatty foods, but you're still hungry, check if enough protein is going into the "processing department"?a lack of protein can slow or stop weight loss.
Make sure that there is an average of 1.5 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight in your daily diet (the amount of protein can reach 1.7 g depending on weight, so the calculation is always individual).If you exercise or go to the gym to get ripped muscles, you should increase your protein a little more.
How much fatty food can you eat on a keto diet?
The ketogenic nutrition system does not provide for strict restrictions on caloric intake, so the main rule is: eat until you are a little full, choose standard portions (or focus on the size of a 200-gram glass - eat as much as it suits).
Have dinner before 8 pm - this will make the whole body's work easier.Don't think that your stomach will be happy with a meat patty in cheese sauce an hour before bed.Like you, he wants to rest at night, and not work at all on the processing of the incoming provisions.
Eating well during the day will allow you to calmly survive a 12-hour break without food (evening + night sleep).As a last resort, eat a piece of cheese or drink a glass of milk with a small spoonful of butter.
This will allow you to sip your hunger and fall asleep full.And remember, even light physical activity like walking will greatly enhance your weight loss results.
Eat delicious and lose weight with pleasure!